The Irish voted YES and …so what? Did all the problems with the EU were solved and all the objections were answered this year from the big NO to the glorious YES? Am I living in a different EU and I haven’t realized it yet? Was I in a coma last year and nobody told me? But the best of all is that the Irish voted YES for the Lisbon treaty so they can see Tony Blair becoming the new EU president?

I sound a bit sarcastic but I’m afraid that if the big NO the Irish said last year awoke us and made us more aware of the problems inside the EU as an organizations, as an international institution and as a blueprint for the United Sates of Europe the glorious YES last week makes us doubt for the Irish judgment; and if their motivation to turn the NO to such a glorious YES were the attacks from populist and opportunist politicians like Barroso and Solana with their unexcused and often rude comments then we all have serious problem.

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and his team of brains after intense work – as he often said – created a monstrous constitution that was going to serve for the big dream, the United States of Europe including basic and critical changes regarding foreign relations and defence. Actually the foundations of the European defence system and the Euro-army were inside this constitution. But d'Estaing trying to cover every single aspect they created a monster with legislations and rules that often contradicted each other. And people did react, actually most of the reactions started from the inside, you see the majority of the Europeans had no idea what this constitution was about, it was too hard to read and even harder to understand due the often chaotic of references in laws and legislations.

The first attempts to push the European constitution failed in the Netherlands and France and when the negative reaction came from these two states they followed the easiest way. Instead of trying to understand what was wrong and correct it they moved to an even more grotesque creation and they called it Lisbon treaty. The Lisbon treaty is the European constitution – something like the artist formerly known as Prince – but chopped here and there with some changes in the language and some patches where convenient just to keep happy everybody and mainly the bureaucratic aristocracy that controls Brussels and the European Union.

This time the European leaders and governments the status quo of the European bureaucracy decided not to go through referendums knowing that the two NOs would multiply to many NOs so they went through the parliaments and one after the other voted YES till it came to Ireland. And when Ireland voted in a referendum NO we all thought, that’s it. They might wake up and they might try to find what’s wrong. Coincidentally the same time the European Union expanded and prepared the ground for a further expansion including Turkey. A state with a lot of problems, social, economic and political, a state that has serious issues with human rights, a state that occupies land of the European Union, a state that disrespects any value of the European Union and mainly a state that is not European and the only reason that they want it in Europe is because the Americans want it for reasons I have explain in the past.

The sock of the expansion was strong for the Union especially because it was an expansion that included ten new states, the majority of them far away from the EU standards, freshly out of their Soviet reality and dealing with their EU membership like they found the goose with the golden eggs. Characteristic is the example of Poland where in the end it looks more like EU needed Poland than Poland needing EU. And instead of the new member paying the fee to become a member like it happened with all the members, EU had to pay an amazing price to Poland to become members. The results of this expansion are something we haven’t seen yet.

So the Irish reacted and a lot of the European citizens felt like somebody were talking for all of them since the European establishment didn’t let them express their opinion. But one year after with a great majority the Irish turned their vote from NO to YES making happy the incompetent leaders of the Union like Barroso and Solana and most ironically making possible for the person who did more damage to UK, socially, economically and politically, Tony Blair to become the next president of the European Union. The man who failed Britain is going to rule the lives of all of us!

What does a monster of a Constitution beget? Little monsters. The best, or better, the worst may still be in the making as the end of the above piece hints at... When the EU Constitution was being prepared, not by the people, of the people, for the people but by an aristocratic elitist like Gestaing, there was a ghost in the convention hall which almost everybody busy there simply ignored; and those who didn’t ignore and reminded the others were promptly silenced. The haunting ghost was a representation of the words uttered at the European Parliament on the 11th of October 1988 by John Paul II. Those are the exact words, and they are prophetic: “If the religious and Christian substratum of this continent is marginalized in its role as inspiration of ethical and social efficacy, we would be negating non only the past heritage of Europe but a future worthy of European Man—and by that I mean every European Man, be he a believer or a non believer.” Indeed, thank you Irish for giving us some pause from a headlong run into the abyss.

Emanuel Paparella

2009-10-07 13:12:06

Errata: Valery Giscard d'Estaing.

Thanos

2009-10-07 22:18:29

I have to admit that when I saw the constitution and gone through a few pages ... I gave up!!! It was simply impossible to read it! Unfortunately news' agencies today talk about Blair's future and our ...misfortune!

Clint

2009-10-08 00:35:00

I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so in my article a year ago when the Irish said NO. Democracy, the EU does not understand the concept. Just keep voting till you come up with the right decision. Their arrogance is unbelievable. The pressure now on Poland and the Czech Republic will be immense. If only they can hold out till next May when the UK go to the polls then the cavalry could just ride over the hill to save you all. With Cameron on course to wipe labour out and if he keeps his promise to hold a referendum then I can promise the UK will say NO and the Lisbon Treaty will be dead in the water. As for the future President Blair he will be just unbearable. Folk of Europe you really have no idea of what you are in for and in true EU Democracy YOU the people of Europe cannot vote him out.